More letters
by Huusina
Summary: Sequel to "Letters". When Rukia comes back to Soul Society, it's time for Renji to be sent to Karakura. Not having a chance to meet, with disappointment at the beginning, and with old and new problems to solve later, they start writing letters again.
1. Renji's 1st Letter

_**It's Huusina again. Having fun with a sequel for Letters, which I hope you'll like.**_

_**Renji is coming to Karakura, so it won't be so peaceful anymore! Read, enjoy and review :) Let's have fun with even more letters :)**_

_**...and if by any means you start this not knowing "Letters", I suggest to start with them, or sooner or later you won't know what's going on. Like really.**_

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Dear Rukia,

you can't imagine how happy I was when I read that you're coming back to Soul Society. I had been waiting for you for more than a year, and finally you were coming.

The day I received your letter, Yamamoto-sotaicho made the decision about my punishment.

Going to Karakura.

To Karakura that you were leaving.

He said that he had reasons. That if two Arrancars appeared in Gensei, more can appear or already appeared and that somebody should be there, just in case. And the shinigami that were there already couldn't stay there forever.

And it just so happened that half of Seireitei hated me at the time.

I still can't believe it actually happened. Every time I wake up, I hope it all was just a dream and that I'm in my bed in Seireitei.

But I'm not.

I'm in Karakura.

The worst thing is that I didn't get to see you before I left. And all I can do now is to write more letters. We survived that once, we'll survive that again, right, Rukia?

I came to Karakura two days ago. I don't know how long I will have to stay there, but I needed a place to stay at. Thinking that you just left a cozy room, I went to Kurosaki clinic.

I still remembered which window led to Ichigo's room, and it was opened, so I used it to save time.

I jumped through the window.

Then Ichigo threw me out through the window.

Rude and inhospitable, as always.

I didn't want to bother Inoue nor Sado, and Ishida was just out of the question, so I decided to stay at Urahara's, like last time.

After three hours of sitting in front of the Shoten I was let in and guided to an already prepared room. So now, yes, I stay in the Shoten. I didn't tell anyone the true story behind my stay in Karakura; I know too well that they would laugh in my face every time they see me till the day I leave.

I guess you're curious about the current situation in Gensei, I mean after the Arrancars, and you with the rest of shinigami left.

From what I know, Inoue is a bit depressed. Maybe she really cared about that Cifer guy... Urahara said that he and Yoruichi are trying to organize some search in Rukongai (I think Inoue is helping them), but maybe you would know more, being in Soul Society.

Ichigo also told me that, strangely, his sister Karin is more irritated than usually, that his friend Arisawa started visiting Kurosaki clinic more often and that Kon is incredibly sad now that you're gone, but other than that, nothing really changed.

One bad thing is that Ichigo hates me already.

And I don't know why.

One day I visited him to talk. Although he _is_ annoying and we fight sometimes, I still think of him as a friend. Besides, I wanted to know what was the situation in Karakura.

We went to his room, nobody from his family spying on us since I wasn't a girl.

We were in the middle of the talk when someone knocked on the door and Ichigo's other sister, Yuzu, came in. She had a tray with her, with some delicious looking sandwiches on it.

"Hello" she said with a smile and put the tray on a desk in Ichigo's room. She then bowed lightly to me. "I'm Yuzu."

"I'm Renji" I replied, bowing my head just as lightly. "It's nice to meet you."

She blushed and focused on the floor.

"I-it's nice to meet you too" she stuttered. She is a really sweet girl, just a bit shy, isn't she?

She shifted from foot to foot.

"I hope the sandwiches will be tasty. It's not much, but I hope that enough" she blurted out, bowed again and hurriedly left the room, constantly shooting glances in my direction.

I straightened up once the door closed and turned to Ichigo with a smile, grabbing the biggest sandwich.

"Your sister is really nice!" I said honestly. "She's in middle school now, right?"

For no reason, he glared at me.

"Get out" he said, taking the sandwich away from me. "And never come here again."

I was still in shock when he pushed me through the door, down the stairs and out of the house, but I managed to catch the sight of Yuzu waving her hand shyly at me, still blushing. Ichigo noticed it too and somehow became even more angry.

That's how, without doing anything wrong, I'm banned to enter Kurosaki clinic. Ichigo is just too hard to understand sometimes.

As expected, no Arrancars appeared so far.

I hope you're doing well in Seireitei. Let's maintain our contact through letters, okay?

Take care,

Renji


	2. Rukia's 1st Letter

**_I don't know how to start... I'm so sorry! T^T_**

_**I haven't been uploading for so long, SHAME ON ME!**_

_**I hope the chapter is good enough to make up for the wait... It turned out so crazy, and half of the things weren't planned before writing :) Well, all I can do is to work harder. Read, enjoy and review please :)**_

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Dear Renji,

you can't imagine how sad I was when I came back to Soul Society and I was told that you left the place. We are so unlucky! I hope you'll come to Seireitei quicker than I did, but until then, as you said, let's maintain our contact through letters.

I must tell you that Seireitei surprised me. It's kind of… scary. First thing I noticed was that far less shinigami are walking around. It was so crowded before, and now it seems that there is at least half of the souls less. I asked few of them why and there were two answers:

1. There's a strange guy who pretends to be Ichimaru-taicho and you never know where or when he'll appear.

2. After night fights were revealed they were banned and some of the shinigami who liked them too much started beating random souls in substitution, mostly some bandits from 11th division.

It turned out that shinigami are scared to go out in the streets. I heard that sotaicho wanted to do something about this, but there are no concrete ideas. Strangely, the reasons are all connected with you, Renji.

Of course, I and the rest of shinigami that were in Karakura had to fit in back. Hirako-taicho was more than happy to go back to his safe division after all that he had to go through with Hiyori. Madarame was also pleased as he could leave Asano's sister behind and forget about her. Ayasegawa wasn't as happy, disappointed with the situation in 11th division (I'm not surprised, honestly). Hinamori-fukutaicho on the other hand constantly smiles and follows Hitsugaya-taicho everywhere. Hitsugaya-taicho himself is always annoyed since we left Karakura and asked me to convey a letter to Karin. If you could bypass your ban (I'm actually amazed you're banned to go to Kurosaki's that fast), please pass it to her. Although it was quite a temptation, I didn't read it.

Oh, and about your ban – don't get to close to Yuzu, I know what I'm talking about.

Now back to Soul Society. After all your letters about Kira-fukutaicho, I was incredibly curious about him. Besides, he was a dangerous obstacle between Hisagi-fukutaicho and Matsumoto-fukutaicho, therefore, as a kind of your successor, I had every right to interfere and make him realize he was _not_ Ichimaru-taicho.

I found Kira-fukutaicho laying in the grass somewhere around his division. He was eating persimmons. He was alone, because after you left he and Hisagi-fukutaicho became enemies again.

I sat beside him and he looked at me, if you can say so, of course. I must admit that his robes and grey hair are impressive.

"Ah, Rukia-chan!" he exclaimed once he recognized me and sat up. "Long time, no see! Want a persimmon?"

I shook my head and Kira-fukutaicho showed me a disappointed face. No matter how good his cosplay was, his face expressions were just a pathetic parody of his captain.

I cleared my throat. I had to tell him, the sooner the better.

"You're not Ichimaru-taicho" I stated seriously, looking in Kira-fukutaicho's face. "He died in the Winter war."

The shinigami in front of me furrowed his eyebrows. I kept staring at him in a rather challenging way as he took out the notebook you wrote about and waved it in front of my face.

The infamous _How to become an amazing shinigami by Ichimaru Gin_.

"Can you see it?" he asked and I nodded. "This is something that Ichimaru-taicho wrote for _me_" I looked at him suspiciously, but he continued calmly. "Ichimaru-taicho knew he would never go back to Soul Society, he knew we'd lose someone as great as him, so he wrote this book for me to take over his role once he's gone."

I straightened up upon hearing his words. Kira-fukutaicho stood up and turned away so I was facing his back, stunned.

"Soul Society was empty without such a person as Ichimaru-taicho. He knew it and he chose me to fill Seireitei with his amazingness again. This place needs Ichimaru Gin" he almost shouted, like he was inspired, and turned to me with a sunset in the background, "and I will give it Ichimaru Gin! JUST WATCH ME!"

He looked at me from above and I realized it.

He was insane.

I knew that this case was bad, but I didn't know it was _this_ bad. I think solving the problem of Kira Izuru will need more time than I expected.

A bit afraid of this Kira-fukutaicho I couldn't recognize, I decided to fix the second thing that stood in the way of Hisagi-fukutaicho's love.

Matsumoto-fukutaicho.

I felt that I had to help her understand her feelings for Hisagi-fukutaicho and that she doesn't like _you_.

Unlike Kira-fukutaicho, she was working, and Hitsugaya-taicho let her have a break on the condition that I make sure his letter gets to Karin. And so I ask you one more time to do so.

I and Matsumoto-fukutaicho settled in a corner far away from the captain with two cups of tea and started talking in hushed voices, earning ourselves a few suspicious glances from him.

Matsumoto-fukutaicho looked pretty excited when I told her I wanted to talk about something private and emotional.

"What is it?" she inquired in a whisper.

I looked at her, wondering where to start from.

"It's about Renji" I started finally, deciding to prove her she doesn't like you first and then to show her how perfect would be Hisagi-fukutaicho as a boyfriend. "I don't want to be rude or something, but I have to tell you I honestly think you two wouldn't make a good couple. I mean-"

"Don't worry" Matsumoto-fukutaicho cut in, waving her hands quickly in front of my face and smiled widely. "I'm not interested that much! I'm not!"

Surprised, I smiled too and sighed in relief. Matsumoto-fukutaicho took my face in her hands and looked in my eyes.

"I thought you were more into Ichigo, but if you say something like this so boldly, I can't help but keep my fingers crossed for you and Renji!"

Before I could react, she shifted in her seat and turned to Hitsugaya-taicho.

"Captain, prepare sake! We're having a wedding!"

I'm sure I looked as surprised as he did.

I just hope Matsumoto-fukutaicho won't tell anyone else what she thinks is true, it would be a disaster! I really don't understand how she got to such ridiculous conclusion. This place is crazier than I remembered it to be.

At least I finally met Nii-sama.

Good luck in Karakura.

Chappies,

Rukia

PS. About Grimmjow and Cifer, Yoruichi and Urahara are still at the stage of planning the searching.


	3. Renji's 2nd Letter

_**Hello again! I'm finally able to present you the third chapter of More letters! I hope you'll enjoy it, because I spent quite some time on it, thinking about how to express Renji's confusion and problems after Rukia's letter. Hope I managed to do it, more or less :) First two lines were meant to be crossed, but it doesn't work here so I had to add "cross that" or "forget that" at the end :( Hope you won't be confused.**_

_**Read, enjoy and review!**_

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Dear Rukia,

you can't imagine how I felt when I read your letter. I mean, a wedding? I was so surprised and a bit excited, and... cross that.

this wedding thing… knowing Rangiku, she already told whole Seireitei about it… so there's not much we can do, maybe we'd better comply... forget it.

did I read right? Rangiku thinks we're getting married? How? I mean, we're close, but… I don't know what to think about it. I don't know what to _do_ about it.

Kuchiki-taicho won't be pleased, that's one thing I'm sure of.

About Hitsugaya-taicho's letter, you wrote you were curious about its content. I read it, but nothing interesting was in. Just some mushy things written with a bit of tsundere attitude (if I can apply this term to the captain, since he's a guy…)

I had more problems with _delivering_ the letter.

I'm not allowed to enter Kurosaki clinic, so meeting Karin was quite a challenge. I had to get in without being noticed by Ichigo.

I went there at night, hoping he would be already asleep. I climbed to where I remembered was his sisters' room and gently knocked on the window.

I was lucky; one of them immediately walked up to me, but to my disappointment, the person turned out to be Yuzu. She wanted to scream upon seeing me like this, but managed to cover her mouth with her hand in time and opened the window a little so that we could talk.

"Renji-kun?" she whispered, not believing her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

I scratched my head and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Honestly, I'm looking for your sister. Is she here?" I asked. Yuzu bit her lower lip and looked away.

"She's downstairs, but should come back in a couple of minutes" she replied, and I don't know why, but she sounded disappointed.

"Can I come in?" I asked and she let me in, still not looking at me.

She told me to sit on a chair and wanted to turn on the lights, but I protested.

"Ichigo shouldn't know I'm here" I said and she seemed to understand, because she didn't object. She sat on another chair and we waited for Karin to come.

Neither of us started a talk and I wondered where was the cheerful Yuzu I met just days before. Maybe she was just tired…

"Renji-kun" she spoke suddenly, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes?" I replied immediately since I couldn't handle it anymore, smiling widely to encourage her to talk, but she wasn't looking at me.

"Are you…" Yuzu started, fiddling with her fingers, "are you interested in Karin?"

Huh?

_What_ did she say?

_Why_ did she think so?

Yuzu finally was looking at me, but I swear _I_ looked like an idiot, staring at her wide-eyed. Then suddenly I started waving my arms before her face.

"No, I'm totally not!" I explained hastily. "I'm just friends with cap- er, Hitsugaya and he asked me to give her something, that's all!"

I stopped and gave Yuzu my most innocent look.

"I see" she said and in her voice I could hear something like… relief? I don't know why, honestly…

I straightened up and she looked at me again, this time smiling. Whatever was going on in her mind, I ignored it and smiled back.

Finally, the door opened and I turned in its direction, holding the letter tight and smiling widely to look nice and harmless despite the time I chose to visit.

"Yuzu, dad asks where are the leftovers from dinner and-"

My smile disappeared the moment my eyes met those of the person in the door.

"Renji" he hissed, his left eyebrow twitching dangerously.

"I-Ichigo!" I squeaked, hiding the letter, just in case.

He narrowed his eyes and I knew I was doomed. I heard Yuzu trying to explain that "it wasn't what it looked like" but I was aware that Ichigo's mind was already occupied by only one thought.

To destroy me.

I won't describe what he did to me because it was too cruel and painful and I don't want to remember it. I'm pretty sure whole street heard my screams.

Now here's what Urahara and Yoruichi find funny: the next day Karin came to the Shoten to buy some medicaments against hollows and I gave her the letter.

It's _not_ funny.

The same day was my duty to go food shopping. I went to the supermarket and guess who I met there? Arisawa.

She was in the section with dairy products and without much thinking I walked closer to her.

"Arisawa?" I asked and she turned to me.

"Oh… Abarai?" she asked back and I nodded, happy that she remembered me. "You're one of Ichigo's friends, aren't you?"

I nodded again.

"I came to Karakura not so long ago" I said, pretending to look for something on the shelves. "It's like I'm replacing Rukia or something."

I laughed at my joke, but Arisawa only looked at her half-filled trolley seriously. I decided to change the subject a little.

"Well, you've known Ichigo for quite a long time, am I right? Longer than me, that's for sure…"

"We've been friends since we were little children" she admitted and put milk into her trolley.

I looked at her and an idea came to my mind.

_I_ need Ichigo to be nicer to me, so that I can live freely and happily here. So _he_ needs a girlfriend to teach him some manners. _He_ and _Arisawa_ would make a good couple, wouldn't they? And once they're together, I know he'll be nicer, I know it.

"You know" I said, looking at her seriously, "friends from childhood are often meant to be together."

She suddenly looked at me, blushing a little.

"How do you know?"

I smiled slightly.

"I know people that experienced it" I lied smoothly, but with good intentions. Besides, it really happens in books and movies! Arisawa smiled a bit and threw some cheese and yoghurts into her trolley, not really paying attention to it.

"It was nice talking to you, Abarai, but I have to go, sorry" she said quickly, holding her trolley tight. "See ya."

I waved my hand at her and she went away, just in time, because I could no longer hide my triumphant smile.

I felt like a genius.

Just wait and I'll be able to get into Kurosaki clinic and enjoy a life without endless work for Urahara. Plus, I'll make two more people happy.

Hope you're life is as good as mine, if not better.

Take care,

Renji

PS. Did Kira really say all that? Captains should really do something about him.


	4. Rukia's 2nd Letter

_**Hello again! Sorry for the wait... Today I give you a new letter by Rukia! Hope you like it.**_

_**Lol, what did i write in this one...**_

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Dear Renji,

you're really an idiot, putting yourself in a situation like this. How could you even think of visiting a little girl in the middle of the night! No wonder Ichigo got angry! And in that, I totally support him.

Another thing in your recent behavior that I don't like is what you did to Arisawa. It was manipulating! You manipulated her! Do you even _think_ what you're doing?!

Besides, I don't understand your logic. I don't think Ichigo and Arisawa would be that amazing together.

Well, whatever. I've got other things on my mind now. Something really bad happened in Soul Society. As you predicted, Matsumoto-fukutaicho decided to share the news of our supposed marriage with the whole world, and although I was denying this fake fact with all my might, it became the main topic of conversations in Seireitei. It all happened at lightning speed and before I even realized what was going on, Seireitei Bulletin already published a large article about me marrying you and the consequences of marriage between people from two different spheres. Nobody listened to me no matter what I said.

However, just talking about it is one thing, taking sides is something completely different. I don't know how it happened or what to do, but whole Seireitei is currently split in two – one half claims that me marrying you is not a problem, since love is love, and the other half criticizes it, not approving of a marriage between someone from one of the most important families and someone from Rukongai. Of course the main activist of The Approving, as they're called, is Matsumoto-fukutaicho, while the so called Disapproving are led by Nii-sama, although he himself married my sister from Rukongai. I don't blame him though – I bet you're the last person he sees as my future husband now.

Almost everybody in Soul Society decided whether they support our "marriage" or not and the two groups don't necessarily _love_ each other. I hear arguments on the streets and in barracks, there are even posters with slogans like "Kuchiki deserves better" or "Let him love her". I'm pretty much confused and don't know what to do. Everybody's _100% sure_ we're getting married and I'd never think things would go that far.

I'm really helpless, Renji. What should I do? I hope you can think of something, because whole this situation really doesn't do me any good and, after all, you _are_ involved in this.

As for the search for Cifer and Grimmjow you asked about some time ago, it seems that Urahara and Yoruichi finally succeeded in organizing a group to do that. It's not official, since captains would never agree to something like this, but its members search every district of Rukongai whenever they have free time. They haven't found them yet, but I think that the mere fact the search started would make Inoue feel better, so tell her.

I'm actually surprised you didn't know, since you _live_ with Yoruichi and Urahara.

Another thing that kept me busy in Soul Society was getting Hisagi-fukutaicho and Matsumoto-fukutaicho together. My encounters with both Matsumoto-fukutaicho and Kira-fukutaicho were complete failures, so I decided to try with the centre of it all - Hisagi-fukutaicho.

"Good luck on the new way of life!" these were his first words when he saw me. I was taken aback a bit, while he just continued, "I thought Renji was interested in Rangiku-san, but apparently he's not."

He smiled and I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

"I can't believe I didn't see it coming," he admitted, his eyes shining brightly. "I mean, you two still keep in touch despite being separated for so long! I hope I'll be able to develop such a deep bond with Rangiku-san…"

"This is why I'm here, honestly," I said and Hisagi-fukutaicho looked at me with curiosity. "Renji's been writing quite a lot about you, actually. I believe you truly deserve Matsumoto-fukutaicho's love and that's why I want to help you."

Hisagi-fukutaicho smiled at me in a way that literally _demanded_ me to smile back.

"Really?!" he exclaimed excitedly and I nodded, seeing him not able to sit still from the sudden boost of energy. "What are we going to do then?"

My smile immediately disappeared upon hearing his words. Obviously, I didn't even start thinking about any plans!

"Well…" I started, desperately trying to think of an idea, "it's not as easy as you may think. We need more people, the two of us is not enough."

Hisagi-fukutaicho nodded eagerly, furrowing his eyebrows to express his determination. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"We'll look for some comrades then."

After this meeting I spoke with a few shinigami and luckily, they were kind and understanding enough to promise to help. So far I have successfully convinced Ukitake-taicho, Kiyone and Kotsubaki. Actually, we thought of kind of a plan already. We decided to find out what is Matsumoto-fukutaicho's ideal type, what qualities she wants her future boyfriend to have. Then Hisagi-fukutaicho will simply "become" the ideal man and Matsumoto-fukutaicho will fall for him.

We hope to gather the necessary information soon, but if you have any suggestions, don't hesitate and write them down in your letter.

Honestly, recently the only thing that can take my thoughts off our "marriage" is helping Hisagi-fukutaicho.

I hope you'll come up with an idea on how to solve this and that you'll make things better in Karakura. Don't ruin your life there too.

Chappies,

Rukia

PS. How could you read someone's letter?! Never do that again!

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_**Of course, if you have some suggestions about Rangiku too, don't hesitate and write :)**_


	5. Renji's 3rd Letter

_**Hello my dear readers! I don't update often and you're still as great as always! Thank you for everything, really... You're amazing :)**_

_**Here comes another chapter of More Letters **_**finally**_** and this time it's Renji who writes. I enjoy writing his thoughts a lot, this guy is so stupid and blind, seriously... I actually thought a lot 'bout him while writing. I think he's really bad and depraved here, maybe that's why a lot of bad things happen to him... or maybe he's like that because so a lot of bad things happen to him? I don't know. he's just funny to write.**_

_**Am I thinking too much recently?**_

_**Please ignore this weird author's note and proceed to reading. It's longer than usual ~oh pride~**_

_**Read, enjoy and review :)**_

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Dear Rukia,

I can't believe the marriage thing went that far. Honestly, I didn't expect people to take that rumor seriously, I thought they'd just forget it, but what I read in your letter… I'd never think one gossip could affect Soul Society like that. I can't even imagine how you must feel in such situation, but I really don't know what should be done. Maybe just observe how the situation progresses? It may be hard, but maybe something good will come out of it? You never know, Rukia.

About Hisagi, I'm really happy you decided to help him. He deserves to be loved, and I think you'll know better than me how to make Rangiku-san be the one to love him. Good luck with that.

As I wrote in my previous letter, I decided to focus on making peace with Ichigo and getting inside Kurosaki clinic (in other words, running away from Urahara, this cruel monster who makes me work day and night). One of my ways to get to Ichigo's heart was through Tatsuki, and she did her best to reach this heart, taking him to dojo frequently and spending afternoons with him studying together. I could tell they got closer with each passing day, because somehow, I and Tatsuki developed this routine to meet during shopping in the dairy products aisle in the supermarket every day, so she was telling me everything.

However, I soon figured out that wasn't enough, having just Tatsuki. What I needed was _whole_ his family by _my_ side.

I thought that Ichigo's sisters would be easier to convince than his father. Karin looks like one to do something to make his life harder just for fun and Yuzu… Yuzu just won't say no, she's too kindhearted for that.

I may sound like a really bad guy, using people and all that, but I really didn't have a choice. Shopping and helping in the Shoten is one thing, but cleaning the whole building every day, doing the laundry, cooking and doing the dishes, fulfilling every little wish not only of Urahara, but also Yoruichi and even Tessai with those kids that recently seem to do _nothing_ around the shop… I think you know these people well enough to tell their wishes aren't all that enjoyable and easy.

I came here to look for Arrancars, but I won't find them while composing candies depending on the color.

That's why one day I hid myself round the corner of Kurosaki household and waited from the moment the sun appeared on the sky.

Around seven o'clock my target left the house.

Yes, I was stalking Kurosaki Yuzu. But with good intentions!

I wanted to know what she was doing throughout the day, get to know her better. I felt she was easier to make friends with and she could become my gate to Kurosaki family. I knew that once she cried and made puppy eyes asking if I could stay, Ichigo would forget about everything bad we went through and just let me in. Karin couldn't perform that kind of magic.

Her father would fail too, I think.

So, there I was, following Yuzu whole week, observing her every action, noting what she was doing nonstop.

I found out that in the mornings she went shopping, then, after leaving her purchases at home, she went to school and spent some time with her friends after the lessons ended. She had to hurry back home, to cook something for the rest of the family, then did her homework and cleaned the house. She also likes to help her father in the clinic if she has time and always makes sure that the atmosphere in the house is nice and warm. These were the results of a whole week of stalking, and just to prove you how hard I worked on that case, I'll tell you I followed her everywhere, which included hiding in school during her lessons and watching her through the clinic's windows in disguise.

Now, who's most dedicated to his decisions?

I had everything I needed to make Yuzu my friend. I knew I had to be caring about people surrounding me (in other words pretend to care about Urahara and his band), I had to care about household duties too (since I was in charge of that in the Shoten, that wasn't difficult) and just be super kind towards basically everyone.

I decided to "attack" last Sunday, when young Japanese people don't go to school. I wanted to look cool in front of her, so I thought of a plan to surprise her nicely. She went to the shop of course, and I waited outside. Now just imagine her shocked face when I deftly grabbed the bag with things she bought the moment she stepped out of the store, saying something along the lines of "I don't think a young girl like you should have to carry something that heavy" with my best cool face expression. _Her _expression was unforgettable.

"R-Renji-kun?" she asked, blushing for some reason.

"Yuzu-chan, do I remember correctly?" I asked in reply and she blushed even more, nodding. "What a coincidence! I was just going this way, looking for a gift for Urahara-san, since he takes care of me so well and let me stay at his place," I blabbered, "though I must say it's a little crowded, you know, with so many people… It's not easy to live there, but I truly appreciate his efforts."

I finished with a smile and although Yuzu looked a bit confused, I could tell my little speech made a good impression on her, since she smiled back after a while.

"Were you thinking about something particular?"

It took me a while to understand she asked about the gift I _planned_ to buy.

"Ah no, not yet," I replied, maintaining my smile.

Yuzu then asked if she could go with me and help me choose a present and I agreed instantly. We bought a wooden cat that she really liked, but what was more important, Yuzu seemed to love every word I said and every thing I did. I don't know why, but I guess I shouldn't complain. I must be a really nice guy to hang out with.

I was sure that my mission was successful when Yuzu asked if I wanted to come to the clinic and eat with her family.

I agreed.

I was full of excitement and happy thoughts while we were heading to Ichigo's house. I would never think that my wish could be granted so easily. I followed Yuzu, still carrying the purchases for her. I already started imagining Urahara's face when he finds out I move out and leave him and how comfortable life was waiting for me. My expectations were huge, but I didn't know what was ahead of me.

The moment we stepped into the house, I heard Yuzu's cheerful voice:

"I'm home!"

Karin immediately appeared, soon followed by Ichigo.

"Took you long-" Ichigo started, but then he saw _me_.

Yuzu noticed that his gaze changed drastically and tried to make the situation better. Suddenly it became incredibly tense.

"I know you don't like Renji-kun, Ichigo, but please listen… We met accidentally and he helped me carry things from the shop! He was really nice to me…"

"Oh?" someone said and we all turned to see Kurosaki-san, who just stepped into the room. "Didn't I see you before?"

I blinked, not knowing what he meant. We met probably, when I still could visit Ichigo, but I didn't remember very well.

"Weren't you hiding in the bushes one day and writing in a notebook, mumbling something about Yuzu to yourself?"

My eyes widened and I couldn't find any strength to speak or shake my head. I slowly turned to Ichigo and his siblings. Yuzu was looking at me shocked, Karin's face portrayed disgust, while Ichigo stared at me in the most intimidating way I've ever seen. He was furious, I could tell, and I didn't have a thing to say in defense.

"Renji…" he whispered and it sent chills down my spine, "you're so dead now, you know?"

Before I could do anything, he grabbed a nearby vase and threw it at me. I barely dodged it when another object was thrown in my direction, and even more when Karin joined in.

Then, I saw Ichigo take one of the chairs in the room and I knew my mission definitely wasn't a success.

"You sick lolicon, RENJI!" he screamed and threw the chair.

I knew I had to run away.

While on my way, I could hear Kurosaki-san stating calmly that "as long as Yuzu wants to, he's okay with this relationship", and I wanted nothing more than to go back and tell them I didn't think about Yuzu _that_ way, but I couldn't. Coming back would be a suicide.

I'm now hiding at Urahara's because Ichigo seriously wants to kill me. I begged him to let me stay inside the shop all the time and bribed him with the wooden cat I bought earlier. He and Yoruichi listened to my story and believed me, but instead of helping me, they only laughed.

Urahara doesn't make me work outside, though, and I'm really thankful for that. Maybe he's not that bad.

Ah, I almost forgot! I've got a really big favor to ask you. Maybe not you directly, but… Well, you see, I recently met Asano, Ichigo's friend. He recognized me as _your_ friend and asked for something. His sister's friend is getting married and she got an invitation. She then promised to come with her boyfriend, which is Ikkaku, in her opinion. Now she can't take her words back, because that wouldn't look good and Asano begged me to bring Ikkaku to Karakura.

I know he wouldn't be happy, but… can you ask him to come? Asano was really serious about it, and I believe Ikkaku can endure one meeting with his sister.

Please reply quickly, it's rather urgent.

I hope that the situation in Seireitei will get better. I'm always there for you, remember? Even if I can't do much, I'll support you in everything.

Take care,

Renji


	6. Rukia's 3rd Letter

_**The fastest update in a really long while! Holidays are really amazing!**_

_**Still... this chappie... I like it, but... it's just not as funny, I focused on other things here. I promise to do better in Renji's reply, plus, the next Rukia's letter will be full of surprises! I myself can't wait to write it :D**_

_**Hope you'll enjoy the chapter. Read&review :)**_

* * *

Dear Renji,

when I read your last letter, I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry. One thing I know for sure is that you should stop trying to get into Kurosaki clinic desperately and just appreciate the fact Urahara let you stay in the Shoten while you're in Gensei. You're doing more bad than good when you start thinking of plans. Just enjoy what you have before things get even worse.

As you asked me to, I talked with Madarame about the wedding. He didn't want to hear about it at first, but, luckily, Kusajishi-fukutaicho overheard our talk and decided to step in. Thanks to her (and her threats), Madarame agreed to accompany Asano's sister on the party.

Last time, I wrote that I was going to get to know the ideal man of Matsumoto-fukutaicho. So, I sent Ukitake-taicho to get some information from Hitsugaya-taicho, while Kiyone and Kotsubaki made a research among other shinigami. However, the results they got were severely disappointing.

All Hitsugaya-taicho said (before he blushed and shouted he doesn't care about other's personal life) was that it should be someone good at drinking. As if we didn't know before.

The shinigami Kiyone and Kotsubaki talked with weren't really helpful either, mentioning mainly drinking and good looks or that _they_ would be best. She's quite popular, it turns out.

Because of the terrible results, I decided to talk with Matsumoto-fukutaicho herself.

We met in a bar and sat in a corner, because recently many people walk up to me just to tell what they think about our "marriage" and it can be really annoying. I started talking with Matsumoto-fukutaicho about irrelevant things and only after a few drinks I decided to ask the most important question: what kind of men she liked.

She looked into her cup and wondered for a while. I was surprised at how seriously she seemed to take my question.

"My ideal man, huh?" she muttered, more to herself, before she spoke to me, "must be good at drinking."

She laughed a little to herself, but her serious expression came back on her face quickly and I moved closer to her.

"He must be witty, you know, and relaxed, a bit lazy so that we could escape from work together, it's fun," she continued. I thought that there was a bit of sadness in her voice. "Laid back, that's the word. Maybe a tad mysterious? But, I want him to be a strong shinigami too. Smart and powerful, and loyal to Soul Society. And," Matsumoto-fukutaicho paused for a while and smiled sadly, "I just don't want him to leave me."

I looked at her, slightly surprised, but put my hand on her shoulder, not really knowing what to do. I didn't ask anything and we stayed there for some time, not really talking, and I helped her to get to her barracks when we left.

I felt that she was talking about Ichimaru-taicho.

The next day, she seemed to be back to her normal, cheerful self and I felt less worried about her. I hope that Hisagi-fukutaicho will be able to make her truly happy. He was very serious when I told him about the results of my talk with Matsumoto-fukutaicho and is deep in thought since then. I got a feeling he's going to come up with an amazing idea.

However, I can't really help him now.

It happened about a week ago. I was on my way to 13th division's barracks, when a shinigami I've never seen before stopped me. He was taller than me and there was a group of shinigami behind him. I always did my best to move around Seireitei unnoticed, but sometimes it's just impossible.

The shinigami in front of me narrowed his eyes when I politely asked what he wanted from me.

"Haa?! You're really asking me that question?" he spoke in a really annoying manner and shook his head to fix his hair. "Don't you know who I am?"

I looked at him once again. He looked like those stereotypical spoiled boys from rich families and was staring at me with superiority. I shook my head quickly to indicate I had no idea who was standing before me and he only seemed to be more enraged.

"Are you kidding me?!" he exclaimed and all the shinigami behind him glared at me. "I'm the heir of the amazing Yamaha family, don't tell me you've never heard this name!" I rolled my eyes, but he didn't notice. Instead, he only flashed a lenient smile at me. "Oh, of course you may not know, who are you to know? You're just a girl that got into Kuchiki family through some stupid connections and wants to marry a man from Rukongai!"

I furrowed my eyebrows at his words, while his stare hardened with every thing he said.

"Do you think you can destroy whole hierarchy in Soul Society with your stupid actions? You're just a meaningless girl and I advise you to resign from your marriage quickly, because we don't want more useless people ruin the elite of this place."

I realized that everybody in the street stopped whatever they were doing and listened to the Yamaha boy. Some were cheering for him, but I also noticed some that disagreed. I myself had enough of his talk and didn't want to listen to any more of it.

"You know what, Yamaha," I said, looking at him defiantly, "if this elite you're talking about is similar to you, I'm more than willing to ruin it completely. It seems it's easy for you to judge the others, so let me judge _you_ now. I think you're just a spoiled brat who can only talk with a ton of guards behind, and even then you're speaking nonsense. For your information, I worked really hard to get my position, but if you can mention something better than my achievements as a lieutenant then I'll certainly listen."

Yamaha boy seemed a bit taken aback, surprised that I talked back, but he quickly recollected himself and the next thing I heard was a slap.

Although I was sure my opponent directed the hit at me, I didn't feel anything.

Someone jumped in front of me just in time to prevent me from being attacked. From behind the shinigami I could see furious Yamaha heir, staring at the person between us in anger.

"I won't let you hit my lieutenant," the shinigami said and I recognized him as one of the warriors of my division.

The atmosphere grew tense and the shinigami and Yamaha were glaring at each other. All the people fell silent and the warriors behind the heir tightened their grips on their weapon.

"Kuchiki-fukutaicho became the lieutenant of our division because she deserved it," my savior continued confidently. "What's more, I believe she can love whoever she wants, whether it's a person from Seireitei or Rukongai, especially since Abarai-fukutaicho is not just a _useless_ person, as you put it. I don't have anything more to tell you, your words proved how pathetic you are themselves."

With these words, he hit Yamaha back. The heir hissed from pain, but before his guards could react in any way, the shinigami that saved me took my hand and we ran to the 13th division. Later on I learned that his name was Matsuoka.

Now, why can't I help Hisagi-fukutaicho? Because I'm in a similar position as you – stuck in my house.

After my meeting with Yamaha and Matsuoka and our little "fight", Seireitei turned into a hell. It's not enough for shinigami now to just voice their opinions about us getting married, they argue with each other on the streets and get into brawls! Sotaicho tries to keep it under control, but it seems that something snapped in everybody. Some people don't work because their captains think of the case differently than they do, cooperation in 13 squads got worse too, because not everyone share the same opinion.

I have to stay in my brother's mansion, because people who are against me marrying you started attacking and threatening me. They throw things at the house (like eggs) and I can't do a thing about it. I feel really bad for Nii-sama. He's against it all, but still helps me.

No matter how many times I try to deny the rumor about our marriage, no one listens. I really hope for some miracle.

Please have some good news in Karakura… I keep my fingers crossed for you in hope things will get better. Keep your fingers crossed for me too.

Thank you for your constant support. If there's someone I can always rely on, it's you.

Chappies,

Rukia


End file.
